About

A Delve in the Cave: 5th Edition Adventure

$4,526

pledged of $3,000 goal

222

backers

We've Successfully Funded!!

I'm returning to my personal and professional gaming roots with a 32-page adventure for 5th edition of the original fantasy roleplaying game—a cavern crawl built to please hack-and-slash groups and storytellers alike!

I started playing fantasy roleplaying games in 1982 at seven years old. (Yes, THAT fantasy RPG.) As an adult I accidentally stumbled into a career publishing supplements and adventures for THAT game along with designing RPG systems of my own. Check out my Goodreads page or visit my website for more info.

Last year I was in Texas for a regional game convention, and while in my booth I scribbled out two pages worth of adventure notes for 5th Edition of the world's oldest and most popular roleplaying game (yes, THAT one) and ran a few players through it before we packed up and drove back to Atlanta.

Interest and sales of the Early Access version surprised me, and we've gotten great response to from groups that have run through it.

We want to offer a high-quality product and keep the price low for tabletop game retailers and the folks who shop at them. Our initial goal will let us pay everyone who's helped with this product a fair wage, print enough to sell through distribution channels, and keep our business going. If we blow past the initial amount we will offer stretch goals that enhance and upgrade the product for everyone!

The Early Access version is complete, which means every backer at the $5 level or higher will receive a fully-playable PDF once the backer surveys are complete. These files will be automatically upgraded to the final version once the adventure has gone to press!

The "dungeon crawl" in the cave takes up most of the Early Access edition. The final version will expand the town of Shadowhaven where the story begins, providing adventure hooks to get the heroes involved in the mystery that threatens the community—as well as a potentially dangerous journey to the tomb of the town's founder, whose bones rest in a cavern under a hill. The encounters and ending will be rewritten slightly and adjusted based on playtest feedback.

"Coblynau" by Lindsay Archer — a new fey creature!

The black-and-white map of the main dungeon is complete, as well as a few interior illustrations. These will be supplemented by additional artwork and a full-color poster version of the map by artist Ben Mund (Serenity Atlas of the 'Verse) that can be printed at 36" x 48" that will provide an attractive set-piece for gamers who enjoy a visual and tactical experience.

Level up your gaming experience by picking the pledge amount that's right for you!

Note the $35 and $400 levels are available only to brick-and-mortar retailers. We'll verify anyone who pledges at that level to make sure they have an actual store.

We have brainstormed a few modest stretch goals that will improve the final product and rewards for everyone. Below is a quick overview ... click here to read about the stretch goals in detail.

$4,000 - Companion eBook. Every backer of the $5 level or higher receives a digital guide filled with information for a Game Master to enhance the experience of running the adventure.

$4,500 - Dice. Every backer of the $10 level or higher will get one or more beautiful d20 game dice from Crystal Caste!

$5,000 - Poster Map. The cave "dungeon map" will be bundled standard with every copy of the adventure. Backers at the $25 level or higher will get a second tactical-scale set piece poster map that goes with the adventure.

Every adventuring group needs a well-balanced party! Several of us have worked together on award-winning game products back in the day. We have:

Jamie Chambers, Designer & Publisher: The founder of Signal Fire Studios is the primary writer and project manager, and is also the guy writing about himself in the third person right now.

Sean Everette, Developer: When not serving his country in the United States Army, Sean is double-checking rules and presentation and making sure that everything makes some kind of sense. (Except Jamie, who Sean knows rarely makes sense.)

Emma Rome, Editor: In between working on opening an inn in the United Kingdom, Emma keeps the manuscript readable, concise, and consistent.

Renae Hayes, Art Director: When not taking care of adorable children, Renae ensures our products look fantastic regardless of budget by working with our fantastic team of artists.

Digger Hayes, Graphic Designer: In between visiting Texas beer gardens and playing video games with his lovely wife, Digger uses his considerable talents to balance text, artwork, and design elements for a clean and attractive look.

Owello, Cartographer: Jamie discovered Owello on Twitter making striking maps with a retro-yet-unique look, and with enough begging Owello joined the team to draw our cave-based dungeon.

Ben Mund, Color Cartographer: Ben has a grown-up job out in the real world, yet lends his incredible talents to Signal Fire Studios and other companies—this time creating the color poster version of our dungeon map.

Nick Kremenek, Cover Artist: Something of a Renaissance man, Nick creates art and music and beauty of all kinds. We'll never know the amount of blackmail material our art director has on him, nor do we want to.

Lindsay Archer, Interior Artist: Jamie has somehow convinced Lindsay into illustrating almost every product he's produced in the last fifteen years. We can't believe the luck, and hope it won't run out anytime soon.

Risks and challenges

While there are no guarantees we won't run into small delays related to printing, packaging, or shipping, we've taken steps to reduce those risks.

Completion. With the Early Access edition complete, every backer is guaranteed to get something readable and playable right out the gate! We have a team in place to get the rest done in short order.

Reasonable. We're keeping our goal reasonable and stretch goals budgeted for time and money, and won't add things that could threaten or slow down this project just to chase a high dollar amount. We've done our research and priced out everything we're offering to reduce possible surprises.

Transparency. All funds received from this campaign will be held in a separate bank account. Anyone who backs the project will have access to an online spreadsheet that will reveal what we've paid for the project and when. Profit will only be paid to the general Signal Fire Studios account after all rewards have been fulfilled.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
About US$ 100

Myrmidon

You not only get a bunch of cool stuff, but you get to submit a name and a short description (50 words or less) that will be adapted into an NPC in the adventure. You will be credited under "Additional Design" in the final product.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 250 or more
About US$ 250

Champion

You not only get a bunch of cool stuff, but you get to submit a name, description (everything from a short concept to full character sheet) that will be adapted into a pre-generated player character that will be available online. Each PC will include an original black-and-white illustration. You will be credited as an "Associate Publisher" in the final product.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 400 or more
About US$ 400

{{ Master Merchant }}

You're a brick-and-mortar game retailer who wants to sponsor this product! You'll get ten copies of the adventure AND the poster map, plus we'll include a quarter-page back page ad that you provide us. We'll contact you closer to launch to verify your store's status. US ONLY.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 500 or more
About US$ 500

Superhero

You not only get a bunch of cool stuff, but you get to submit a name, description (everything from a short concept to full character sheet) that will be adapted into a pre-generated player character that will be available online. Each PC will include an original black-and-white illustration. You will be credited as an "Executive Publisher" in the final product! In addition, lead designer Jamie Chambers will schedule a game session (up to 5 hours) online using the Roll20.net platform.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 800 or more
About US$ 800

Lord

You not only get a bunch of cool stuff, but you get to submit a name, description (everything from a short concept to full character sheet) that will be adapted into a pre-generated player character that will be available online. Each PC will include an original black-and-white illustration. You will be credited as an "Executive Publisher" in the final product! In addition, lead designer Jamie Chambers will travel to you (scheduled within six months of the completion of this campaign) and run an in-person game session for up to 6 players. US ONLY.